MaganBrown - maganbrown

Here are some pictures of the before stages:

 

My room:

These are from Alex's room:

And from the living room:

And finally, the kitchen: 

This is just a big "thank you" to all my family!

To Beth Scott Ansley and Coopie Coop:

Thank you for the dining room table yall have given us. Our old one was a trade out for some work Dad did before my sister and I came along and it was too big to fit in our new kitchen. Yall totally came in to help right when we needed it.

 

To Mimi and Papaw(who will never see this b/c its online):

Thank yall for everything! From Mimi helping me and Alex pick out colors to getting us a new fridge, new microwave and harwood floors for the kitchen. It means a ton to us. We couldn't have done it without yall.

 

To Aunt Susie and Uncle Rick:

Even though I was upset during my last post, Aunt Susie came and finished the wallpaper peeling that I was so mad about. Uncle Rick and Aunt Susie also pitched in to have the sides of the house pressure washed professionally. We really appreciate it.

 

To Aunt Susie and Uncle Ray:

Aunt Susie, you have helped us out so much with your color choices and advice. I'm so glad you've changed your house (and other people's) for so long! Also to Uncle Ray, Thank you so so so so much for helping us do everything. You've helped us do everything from fixes cracks in the floor to repairing the wall to painting to help us put in the new faucet. We can't thank you both enough.

 

Pictures soon to come!!

So as most of the two readers of this blog know, my family has bought a house in Ooltewah. When we bought it there was a very taxing, overbearing wallpaper in the kitchen and a stove that was average but dirty. Well, my dear, sweet family loves us so much that they wanted to help. My Mimi and Papaw went and bought us a new stove and microwave(so big you could fit a small child in there). Then, as Alex and I were about to put my gorgeous sequin red on the walls in my room, the doorbell rang. It was my Aunt Susie and Uncle Rick. We gave Aunt Susie the official tour of the house while Uncle Rick was suspiciously lurking downstairs. As she walked into the kitchen Alex explained that we were going to use this new kind of paint on the wallpaper to keep from having to peel it all off. Well about the time Alex said that, Aunt Susie ripped a huge chunk of wallpaper off. O-F-F! WHAT!!! Who does that?? Is my family that close that we can change the way someone else's house looks without asking??? OMG! So we called Dad and told him and he had about the same reaction we did. Also, while we were showing Aunt Susie the house Uncle Rick moved the old stove completely out of the house! He had no way of knowing Mimi and Pops had bought us a new one. So Alex and I shrugged it off and went back to painting. Well we didn't know how complicated painting red walls would be. After a second coat, there were still streaks everywhere. I like it even though you can see the streaks. It's totally different and unique. Well little did we know Aunt Susie would show up to voice her opinion about our house AGAIN the next day. (She helped finish pulling off wallpaper) I can literally go months without seeing the woman, then, the minute we don't need her opinion, there she is. (this really irked me in case you couldn't tell). So she came back after both coats had dried and made this face like she'd stepped in shit. She kept going on about how we needed a third coat and I said, "No, this is my room and I like it this way." She's never even going to see it. Would I tell her how to paint her bedroom? No, I wouldn't. UGHH!! As you can tell this obviously bothered me. And if Aunt Susie reads this: This is my house. I'm thankful for your eagerness and help, but please, keep your opinion to yourself. If I want it, I'll ask for it.

So I went home this weekend (like I do almost every weekend). Dad was feeling kind of sickly when I got there but figured he was just worn out. I don't know if Daddy gave it to me or what but since Monday I have been totally under the weather. I made it out to target on Monday and was coughing and sneezing and had a terrible headache. I have slept like Rumplestilskin in the days following :) I bought some Zicam and have been taking it every 3 hours for the past 3 days. Even in class. So today I was finally feeling better. A hot shower and laying around the room all day totally helped. So after class today I went to walmart with two of my good friends, Maggie and Courtney. I bought super vibrant nail polish and a Cosmo. If that doesn't fix what ailes you, honey I don't know what will! So my nails are now Pink Promenade Creme. How fun is that? Tomorrow they may be Times Square Tangerine Creme though :)

 

"Pardon me boy, is that the cat that eat your new shoes??"

I am writing this now because I have a huge break in classes. Somehow I am signed up for an 8:00-9:50 class and I don't have another class until my 6:15-9:00 class tonight. Almost 8 hours. Whoa. So I'm sitting in my room curled up in warm clothes and blankets. There is almost 2 inches of snow outside. Yesterday it was barely cold enough to snow so it would snow, melt, then freeze and then snow and repeat the process. So I almost busted my butt like 4 times. I had to be up and in our Student Center Complex at 7:30 to represent Kappa Epsilon at our Access King Day. There is this one hill that I have to use to get to the SCC and it was so slick I had to walk in the snow rather than the sidewalk. So today I made sure to put on some shoes with grip on them. When I went to lunch today we had pintos and cornbread which made my day. Then we sat down and there was a giant screen playing the inauguration. I was really excited to watch but totally mad at the international students who had no respect for the historic moment that was taking place. I mean, if I were in Korea or wherever the hell they're from, I would be respectful of them having a new leader. The fact that our new president is black doesn't bother me, despite the fact that I grew up where I did. If it bothers you that he's black you need to grow the hell up. He is OUR president now and you need to respect him as such and praise Jesus in heaven that he isn't a dumbass like G.W. Bush.

At the funeral home tonight we were sitting down visiting with Brittany and we began a stroll down memory lane. I found these hilarious and thought you would. The first few were easy to remember, like the time Brittany fell like a rock out of her chair during our math class. And the time I told Brittany the grasshoppers were having sex. But the funniest one to me was the time Brittany, Alex and I got busted for "joy riding."

 

Brittany's family had an old white van parked in their back driveway. They had a front driveway and back driveway because their house sat parallel to the street. We were bored with no one home but the three of us. After an hour of laying on the porch rails spitting sunflower seeds everywhere we decided to take the van for a ride. We hopped in, keeping the side door open so we could spit our seeds out. Of course, being the wild child, I decided to drive first. I drove to the front driveway. Brittany decided she would drive but we got scared so we drove to the back driveway. Little did we know, Brittany's grandmother who lived across the street had looked up just in time to see us pull in. She frantically call Tammy, Brittany's mom, telling her we'd been out joy riding. Brittany's mom called mine and we were in trouble before they were in the county. They called the house, yelling so loudly that we could hold the phone out at the end of our arms and still clearly hear them. We agreed to the "discussions" we would have when they got back. We knew the worst would be over once we pleaded our cases so we returned to the front porch to continue spitting sunflower seeds.

Whoever reads this (which is probably no one) please pray for the Bethune family. Brittany and I grew up together and her parents, Benny and Tammy, were some of my parents' closest friends back home in Alabama. Tammy's father passed away on Friday night at, I'm told, around 12. Brittany was there for me when my own grandfather passed and I want so bad to just hold her right now. Please keep her family in your prayers. Big Jim suffered a bought with cancer. Brittany had moved in with her Nana and Grandpaw to take care of him and she was very close to him. I hope that my prayers (as well as anyone's who reads this) will help comfort the Andersons and Bethunes in this terrible time. Visitation is tonight beginning at 5 and I'm not sure about tomorrow's time. The funeral will be sometime Tuesday so I am taking my first day of classes off to be there. Brittany was there for me SOO many times when I needed her. I just hope I can justly repay the favor.

Ah, it's almost time to go back to King. The actual date is the 12th which is Monday. As the day draws nearer, I realize how much I really love being at home. I was shopping yesterday morning when I ran across a sign in the Hallmark store that says, "Sisters...The best gift your parents ever gave you." I also got some great ideas for some graduation presents. I've been hanging out at the shop for two reasons. One is because I have nothing better to do and the other is so that I can be around my family during the day.

 

 

Alex was scheduled to go back to school today but school was cancelled because of the floods from night before last. Night before last we were at the shop until late. We had dinner with Mimi and Papaw at the Cracker Barrel. As we were leaving the shop Alex and I rode together and the water from the creek across the road was in our ditch. It came half way up the lot and all the way to the bottom of the sign. It was so deep by the time we finished
eating that Dad wouldn't let me drive my car onto the lot because my car is so low to the ground. There were jobs rained out in Nashville. It was crazy.

I am working on a calendar with all of our family's birthdays on it and pictures and such. It should be finished in the next few days...hopefully. I stole all the pictures from Myspaces, Blogs and Facebook. (But in a non-stalker way). I'm trying to collect emails so I can let everyone know when the project is done. I'll be so ready for it to be done. I'm also ready to graduate.

Please keep me in your prayers in that when I get back to King I will have to have a Financial Aid meeting to determine the price of school next year and whether or not I can afford to continue my studies at King. If not, I will be happy to come home to UTC and stay at the house we are *getting* (fingers crossed). Alex and I will have our own rooms for the first time in a long time. SO...keep my Financial Aid in your prayers that God will work as He sees fit and also that we will be able to close on this house on the 19th!!

 

So obviously, I don't have time to write during school. After a long and somewhat stressful semester I finally got to come home for a while. It felt so good to sleep in the house again. I finished the semester with A's on all my finals (whew!) My very last exam was for Survey of Exceptional Children. It was at 9:00 am. I was up til almost 4:30 am studying. These are the note cards which I had studied front to back:

 After a brief nap, I woke up for my exam. On my way to class I downed a energy drink (then felt my kidneys strain). I aced my exam, finishing first in the class with a 70 out of 75 points. I packed and came home in record time. I got home and was sitting at my mom's house when 9 pm rolled around. I crashed...hard. It was insane. Once I got home I was able to chill and get some rest in. Thank goodness!

 

Also, before break, on December 2, 2008 (a day which will live in infamy) I broke my toe. Oh!! How in the world does something hurt so bad?? This is the night it happened. About thirty minutes after it happened:

 

 It happened when I was standing on my chair, reaching for a bowl. The chair wobbled and I landed with my foot hurting. Apparently I had kicked the base of the chair in my fall. The next morning  went to see the Athletic Trainer. This was what it looked like: 

She flicked it and determined it was broken. All I could do was tape it. This was the next 2 days on my broken toe: 

It was all I could do. Oh that was painful. I hobbled everywhere for almost 2 weeks. About a week after I came home I could wear shoes that were not the pair that fit. Thank goodness.

So I moved back in a few days ago and love it. Granted, I missed alex before I ever left but being back up here makes me feel more comfortable. My roommate is Caitlyn Horn and we have the coolest room ever. We have a room sized for 2 people but with furniture for 3 people. I have a sweet desk and I'm really excited about my classes. Lots of observation hours to come but I'm ready. I am going to sell lotion here and at home. I have a really nice RA and the freshmen will be here soon. Right now it's like a ghost town around here, not that it's a happening place even when everyone's here. I'm glad to be back but not to be away from home. I love everyone at home and hope to go home in a couple of weekends. I'm constantly texting so you can text me and brighten my day (423 718 6301). Much love everyone.

-Mag

I'll be moving back to school in less than a month and I'm gearing back up. I'm so excited. I got a new clip on lamp which I love. (I know, not the most exciting thing in the world but it happens) I'm still looking for numbers. In case you hadn't heard, Alex accidentally deleted all of mine. Yea. We were driving down the road leaving the Tennessee Valley Railroad Museum and Alex needed to call Dad but didn't want to get her phone out. So I got mine out of my pocket. It is a chocolate and is a touch screen. So I accidentally hit erase all and it asked for a lock code. I didn't know it had done that and when I handed it to Alex she thought it was because my phone was locked so she punched in my lock code and erased all my contacts. So I have a few, not many. So if I did have or need to have your number you can email me (NMBrown@king.edu) or something. Go for it.